Safeway's new store brand Eating Right label is designed to make it easier for consumers to make healthier eating choices with packaging that uses color-coded dots to alert them to important product attributes.
For example, a red dot signifies the product contains whole grains. A yellow dot indicates the item is low in cholesterol. Light blue means the product is low in fat, etc.
"This line helps consumers address their specific dietary needs," Teena Massingill, a spokesperson for Safeway, told the San Mateo County Times. "If you're limiting your fat or sodium, you'll be able to easily identify the best foods for you because the specific health attributes are listed on the front of the package."
Mike Reed, a consumer from Walnut Creek, Cal., is the type of consumer that Safeway is seeking to attract with its Eating Right store brand. Mr. Reed reads labels to make sure he's consuming the products that will enable him to achieve his health goals.
"I want to incorporate more fiber and protein to stay healthy," he told the County Times. "I also make sure sugar is not the first or second ingredient listed."
Mr. Reed had not yet purchased an Eating Right product but indicated the ingredients and packaging approach Safeway was taking was likely to lead him to give the store brand a try.
While saying she would prefer that consumers focused more of their food purchasing on fresh fruits and vegetables, Jo Ann Hattner, a registered dietitian who teaches nutrition at Stanford Medical School, gave Safeway high marks for the approach it was taking with the Eating Right line.
"(Safeway is) initiating some thought about the nutritional components of food, and the supermarket is a good place for that because that is where people are making their food purchases," she said.
Discussion Questions: What will the Eating Right store brand mean for how consumers perceive Safeway? How would you rate the current state of Safeway's store brand program with the Eating Right, O Organics, Safeway Select, Rancher's Reserve and other lines?